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The final section of the M11 Halkali-Istanbul Airport Metro Line opened on Friday, completing a 69-kilometer route connecting Halkali in western Istanbul, Istanbul Airport and the central business district of Gayrettepe, making it Türkiye's longest and fastest metro line.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan inaugurated the 22-kilometer Halkali-Arnavutkoy section and announced during the opening ceremony that travel on the Halkali-Istanbul Airport Metro Line would be free until July 31.
The newly opened section includes five stations, completing the metro line, which has been built in phases over recent years to improve access to Türkiye's largest airport and strengthen public transportation links across Istanbul.
The 31.5-kilometer line serves seven stations and reduces travel time to around 30 minutes between Halkali and Istanbul Airport. The completed route also cuts journeys from Halkali to Gokturk to 43 minutes, Kagithane to 54 minutes, and Gayrettepe to 57 minutes, creating a continuous rail connection across Istanbul's European side.
The metro line is designed for speeds of up to 120 kilometers per hour, making it one of Europe's fastest urban rail systems.
The M11 line first entered service in January 2023 with the opening of the Kagithane-Istanbul Airport section. The route was later extended to Gayrettepe and then toward Halkali as construction progressed.
The completed line connects Istanbul Airport with key transportation hubs across the city and provides links to other metro routes, Marmaray commuter rail services and Metrobus lines, improving connections between Istanbul's airport, business districts and residential areas.
Ahead of the inauguration, Erdogan rode the line with journalists between Halkali and Kayasehir stations, noting that trains reached speeds of 110 kilometers per hour.
During the ceremony, the president highlighted the project's expected economic impact, saying the metro line would save 117 million hours in travel time over the next 25 years and generate a total economic benefit of €935 million ($1 billion).
Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said earlier that the line would operate with 100 metro cars across 25 train sets, with the first 10 running with drivers and the remaining 15 manufactured in Türkiye to fully driverless standards.
Unlike most of Istanbul's metro network, which is operated by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, the M11 line was built and is operated by the Transport and Infrastructure Ministry. The ministry also oversees the 76.6-kilometer Marmaray commuter rail line, which links Halkali and Gebze via the Bosphorus.
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